Robinhood just rolled out crypto services across the European Union, and announced perpetual futures, tokenised stocks, crypto staking in the US, an AI assistant, and its own blockchain during a keynote event in Cannes.
“We have a chance to prove to the world what we’ve believed all along, that crypto is much more than a speculative asset,” said Vlad Tenev, Robinhood’s CEO. “It has the potential to become the backbone of the global financial system.”
The news highlights not just Robinhood’s latest foray into the world of digital assets, but also how the wider fintech and traditional finance industries are muscling into the crypto industry.
EU rollout
Having only been available in six nations, the full app will now be available across the EU, the European Economic Area, and the United Kingdom.
The rollout, which is planned for later this summer, comes on the back of Robinhood acquiring its Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA, licence, which allows it to operate in the EU.
That also means that it will be able to roll out services in the region that aren’t available in the US, such as perpetual futures.
The company also announced the rollout of tokenised US stocks and exchange-traded funds in the EU, something Tenev has argued for for months in opinion pieces, interviews, and podcasts.
Stock tokens will initially be issued on Arbitrum. In the future, tokenised stocks will be facilitated by the new Robinhood layer 2 blockchain, based on Arbitrum, which is still under development.
Robinhood also announced that it will launch crypto staking for eligible US customers, starting with Ethereum and Solana. It will also be available in the EU.
Robinhood also announced an AI-powered investing assistant called Cortex for Crypto, which will be made available later this year.
Cortex will be available for Robinhood Gold members, enabling them to see curated insights, trends, and analysis.
Fintech creep
Robinhood is not alone in pushing into crypto.
Both traditional players such as Morgan Stanley, which owns the E*Trade platform, and fintech powerhouses like Revolut are ratcheting up their digital asset businesses.
At the same time, Kraken and other crypto stalwarts are going the other way by tapping into traditional financial services like stock trading, which has been high on the likes of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s wishlist for years.
The news came just hours after Kraken also announced a rollout of tokenised US equities.
“For the first time, people all over the world can own and use a share of a tokenised stock like they would use money,” Arjun Sethi, Kraken co-CEO, said in a statement. “You can move it, hold it, spend it or borrow against it. All from your wallet, with no intermediaries, no borders and no delays.”
And more may come, with banking giants JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo reportedly exploring the launch of their own stablecoins.
